The Hummingbirds Finally Returned
The milkweed, butterfly weed, yarrow, chicory, elderberry flowers, and bee balm are all coming to life in the most ephemeral and beautiful way lately. Every season seems to unfold in little stages if you slow down long enough to notice it. First come the dandelions and purple violets of spring, then the tiny bluets — what some call Quaker Ladies — trembling softly in the breeze along the roadsides and woodland edges.
[Photography taken by Michelle Touchstone Founder of Me and a Tree Skincare]
One of my favorite things after winter is watching the bees emerge with such urgency and delight after winter. The carpenter bees and fat bumble bees almost seem too heavy for the flowers they cling to, weighing down the delicate blooms in desperation for nectar. We have so many pollinators here that I honestly do not even know all of their names. Everywhere you look, there is movement, buzzing, fluttering, and life returning again.
As spring slowly turns toward summer, we can feel the shift all around us. The humidity grows heavier, the days warmer, and the overcast rains feel like such welcome relief before the brighter heat settles in. Around our little cabin and apothecary, we experience tiny microclimates depending on where the land dips beneath the trees. In the lower shaded areas of the property, the air suddenly cools against your skin like nature quietly offering a breath of fresh air from the thick summer warmth
[Photography taken by Michelle Touchstone Founder of Me and a Tree Skincare]
With the humidity and warmth come more insects and more flowers — a beautiful symbiotic relationship that reminds me constantly how connected creation really is. You cannot truly have wildflowers without pollinators dancing from bloom to bloom in search of sweetness. The butterflies have returned in abundance lately too, especially around the orange butterfly weed lining the winding country roads. It feels impossible not to pull over sometimes just to admire them for a moment.
One of my favorite treasures of summer, though, are the fireflies. At dusk, the forest begins sparkling with tiny silver flashes of light drifting through the trees like little floating lanterns. Every season seems to hold its own hidden treasure chest of jewels for my husband and me to rediscover year after year.
I have also grown especially fond of the barred owls living in the trees behind our cabin. Their calls honestly sound like wild laughter echoing through the woods — almost like laughing chimpanzees deep in the forest. It is one of the funniest and most magical sounds I have ever heard in nature.
Meanwhile, the garden itself has suddenly burst into motion. After weeks of slower spring growth, many of the herbs and trees seem to have awakened overnight. My lemon balm, Melissa, has become especially lush and beautiful lately. She is one of my favorite plant allies and has long been one of the herbs I rely on most for calmness and balance.
Although I naturally prefer cooler weather, summer still brings its own beautiful rewards — sweet potato starts stretching upward, elderberry flowers blooming for the very first time, and long warm evenings filled with birdsong and movement.
Yesterday I surprised my husband by putting out the hummingbird feeder again. He has always been fascinated with birds and somehow has a wonderful gift for gaining their trust. All day long while we worked around the apothecary windows, we kept hoping the hummingbirds from last season might return.
[Photography taken by Michelle Touchstone Founder of Me and a Tree Skincare]
Out went the sweet nectar feeder… and wouldn’t you know it — while I was writing our recent email newsletter and David was checking in freshly delivered BUG Repellent spray bottles, there he was.
At first I only caught a quick little flash across the yard and wondered if I had imagined it. Then suddenly he appeared, hovering at the feeder with those impossibly fast little wings. After sipping nectar, he turned and looked directly at us through the apothecary windows as if greeting us personally and thanking us for remembering him.
Tiny moments like that stay with me.
While we are enjoying all the wildlife returning around us, we are also deep into summer market season once again. The apothecary has been full of soapmaking, herbs, oils, and freshly poured creations lately.
[Photography taken by Michelle Touchstone Founder of Me and a Tree Skincare]
This week we are making:
• Clove & Riverside Soap
• Rosemary Clary Sage Soap
• Cedarwood Yuzu Soap with loofah
• Goat Milk Patchouli Soap with Turmeric
• Muscle EEZ Body Therapy Lotion
The shelves are slowly filling again with fresh botanical batches as we prepare for upcoming farmers markets and long summer evenings downtown.
Feeling inspired by all the woodland beauty around us reminds me why I began handcrafting botanical skincare in the first place — for the love of creation itself.
Every time we mill oats from whole berries or carefully select ingredients for a new batch, we are intentionally choosing higher quality natural ingredients rather than cheaper shortcuts so common in modern manufacturing. We feel deeply grateful to make a modest living while working so closely with the plants, flowers, herbs, scents, textures, and natural beauty surrounding us each day.
The intricate dance between flora and fauna constantly keeps us grounded in why we do what we do.
When I step outside and catch the smell of fresh jasmine drifting through the humid air, I am reminded how grateful I am that we do not spray pesticides around our land. Because of that choice, we are still blessed with butterflies, hummingbirds, bees, flowers, and thriving wildlife all around us.
As we slowly continue growing more herbs, flowers, and botanicals for Me and a Tree, I hope to steward the land as carefully and beautifully as possible.
Sometimes I still feel like that same curious little child I once was — running beside creeks, catching crawdads, studying strange insects, and marveling at every flower and butterfly I could find. Even now, years later, I still carry that same sense of wonder whenever I see swallowtail butterflies drifting across the garden, ruby-throated hummingbirds flashing in the sunlight, or white yarrow blooming along quiet country roads.
[Photography taken by Michelle Touchstone Founder of Me and a Tree Skincare]
It is my hope that Me and a Tree always reflects that same philosophy:
to create things that feel natural, intentional, peaceful, and deeply connected to the beauty of creation itself.
When we avoid harsh chemicals and steward both our bodies and the land carefully, everything seems to flourish more beautifully and naturally over time — whether human, botanical, or wild.
[Photography taken by Michelle Touchstone Founder of Me and a Tree Skincare]
It may not always be the cheapest path, but it is deeply rewarding knowing that the ingredients we use and the products we create are thoughtfully chosen to support both wellness and beauty in a gentler, more natural way.
Until next time, from the woodland apothecary
Michelle
Founder,Me and a Tree
www.meandatree.com